Author: Derrick Murray

“Extraction 2” feels more like extortion than a rescue mission.

“Elemental” is a beautiful love story with immigrant narrative undertones, that is bound to make you cry and want to hug your parents.

“The Flash” is a lot of fun, and does do some things right that help keep it from being a total disaster. Though impossible to dismiss Miller at its center, it is still possible to enjoy “The Flash” on the surface level platter that it’s served on.

One benefit of seeking out as many films as time will allow is that you get to experience a plethora of under the radar bangers. There is a whole world of film underneath the increasingly lackluster Netflix queue and blockbuster offerings. If you look hard enough, you’ll stumble upon some infectious gems like “Sanctuary,” a psychosexual thriller that just may be the best RomCom of 2023. You read that right. This oddball, single setting thriller infused with an overwhelming sexual energy channels all the makings of a beautiful love story, but is buried under the surface of a twisted, dysfunctional…

“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” isn’t quite as refreshing as “Bumblebee,” but also not as insulting as “The Last Knight” and falls almost precisely in the middle of the two films where it canonically takes place.

“Across the Spider-Verse” sets a new precedent for what animation can do. It is the pinnacle of modern technical mastery.

“The Boogeyman”  is a middling horror film that struggles to balance the effective atmospheric haunts with muddled horror cliches, leaving it unable to mask its obvious trauma allegories and maintain consistent horror intrigue that feels on the cusp of delivering but falls short.

“Wrath of Becky” injects a healthy dose of humor amidst its gruesome slaughter-fest, and though it struggles at times to sustain its simplicity, it has enough to be an entertaining follow up and intrigue in the sequel it wants to make next.

You Hurt My Feelings” may be the funniest, smartest film of the year so far, and Holofcener’s terrific script paired with her patient direction helps solidify this kind of high praise.

I’m not quite sure what to make of Gerard Butler at this point. I can’t decide if he’s just really cheap to cast, or doesn’t read scripts and shows up on set as soon as the phone rings. I’m all down for the b-movie action star. Hell, Steven Seagal made an entire career of these straight to video type films. The difference is, whether Seagal knows it or not, a vast majority of his filmography is well aware of the shlock factors. Butler and the projects he chooses all seem to miss this pivotal mark, aiming to add levels of…